


It's Staying That's Hard

by Baymax_13



Series: Finding You Was Easy [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adoption, Amputation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Dark May Parker (Spider-Man), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hospitals, How Do I Tag, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Panic Attacks, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark, Recovery, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:35:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21825286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baymax_13/pseuds/Baymax_13
Summary: He opened his eyes and was met with the two concerned faces of his mom and dad, hovering over him nervously, his dad holding a now empty cup of water with a bendy straw.“Hey” His voice sounded like it was brushing against sandpaper. “All done?”Tony’s eyes crinkled. “Yeah buddy, all done. You did great.”His mom brushed the hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead softly. “Rest love. We’ll be here when you wake up again.”Peter found he had no trouble believing her.---------------------------------------------------------------------Peter's home life hadn't been great for as long as he could remember. Between words spoken and punches thrown, he has never had love not tied to pain.One night, May goes too far and the teenager finds himself in the care of his mentor Tony Stark and his fiancee Pepper Potts. Neither having been ready to find themselves parents overnight, all three must learn to navigate this newfound family through the minefield of insecurities and past traumas it brings.AKA: Peter Parker is a mess and Pepperony help him be happy again.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Finding You Was Easy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1572709
Comments: 69
Kudos: 791





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is my first Marvel fic and it's the longest thing I've ever written. I really appreciate any kudos or comments, and this is going to be part of a series that will follow the same narrative, so if you have any prompt ideas for future one-shots, drop them below!
> 
> There are some heavy topics in this fic so I'll be putting some warnings below. Make sure you stay safe and don't read anything potentially triggering. Not every chapter will be as heavy but it definitely starts on a sad note. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> TW: Child Abuse, mentions of alcoholism, mentions of anxiety, description of injuries, mentions of amputation.

Peter:

Peter held his breath, desperately hoping May would just pass out on the sofa like she’d done so many times before. But he knew that was impossible. Today was different. Today was the first anniversary of Ben’s death. The day Peter failed at protecting the only person in his life who had ever not used him as a punching bag. 

Except for Tony and Pepper, but Peter figured it was just a matter of time until he screwed up bad enough for them to realize he wasn’t worth their trouble. 

The door banged against the frame as May slammed it shut with enough force Peter could hear the wood splintering. His senses were going haywire, his body pumped full of adrenaline. He had no idea what May would do to him now that she had come back reeking of alcohol. 

She had found out a few hours ago that he was spiderman. 

When she saw Peter climb through the window with his suit on, she freaked. Slapped him, hard. But Peter could only be grateful that she was sober because if she had been drunk a slap would have been the least of his worries. 

She had gone off, leaving Peter locked in his room with no food, water, or access to the bathroom. 

That was seven hours ago.

It was nearing five am when she finally came back, but Peter didn’t have a chance to be grateful he might finally be released, because as soon as the smell of vodka hit his sensitive nose he knew he was in for a world of pain. 

Peter held his breath as the locks on his door turned, one by one. May made no sound, which only served to put Peter more on edge. When she had been quiet in the past had been the times he had been hurt the worst. One time was so severe even she conceded to taking him to the hospital and telling the doctors he fell down a flight of stairs. 

May opened the door, the slow creek allowing the soft halo of living room light to outline her like a shadow. She looked to Peter in that moment like the Harbinger of his death.

He wasn’t too far off. It was a good thing he was still wearing his suit under his clothes. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Tony:

Tony had been on a working binge recently. He was looking for a way to make the suit more fully integrated with his AI system so that it could react to threats Tony himself couldn’t sense. 

It was not going great. He was on his 8th cup of coffee in two hours, and he was pretty sure even Dum-E had given up on him. Tony was pretty damn close to calling it a night and actually getting some sleep when Friday interrupted him. 

“Boss, I have called a suit as well as alerted First Responders. Peter Parker has sustained life threatening injuries. His vitals are dwindling. If he doesn’t receive care immediately, he will die.” The AI sounded as concerned as a coded consciousness could. 

Tony felt an immediate stab of panic run through him. The suit began to wrap around him before he even had a full chance to process what exactly was going on. Friday must have uploaded the coordinates to the suit because Tony was in too much shock to steer. He felt the beginning of a panic attack manifest itself, but he shoved it down until after he had made sure the kid would live. 

His kid would live.

Fuck. Tony knew better than to get attached. It always ended in pain. But Peter, his underoos, had wormed his way into his heart and made Tony melt. He thought of Peter like a son. Not that he’d ever admit that. He would definitely screw Pete up just like Howard had screwed him up all those years ago. 

Besides, the kid had May. He definitely didn’t need Tony hanging around pretending to be someone important to him. 

Tony’s cheeks were wet with tears by the time he realized they were coming up near Peter’s apartment with May. Friday directed the suit between two buildings and into an alley. 

“Emergency ETA Fri?” he croaked. 

“4 Minutes Boss.”

Tony stumbled around blearily, trying desperately to find any sign of his boy, his breathing only becoming quicker with every second he didn’t see him. 

Finally, Tony caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. He briefly prayed it was the suit and not Peter’s blood. 

He was wrong, of course he was wrong. He was never fucking right when it mattered. 

Tony ran to his kid, who looked so small and pale underneath the streetlights.  
He knew he shouldn’t touch him in case he had a spinal injury, so he just focused on stroking his hand through Peter’s blood soaked curls. He sobbed silently as he took in the sight of one of the most important people in his life, broken against the pavement. 

Peter’s face was a bloodied mess, and Tony could already see a black eye developing. He was covered in cuts from shards of glass, a few of which were still embedded in his chest and arms. One of his wrists was definitely broken, and Tony was sure a few of his ribs must have been as well. 

But all of that paled in comparison to his right leg. 

It was an absolute mess. Tony was coming to the conclusion that Peter fell - or was pushed - out of the window of his apartment. And looking at his leg, it seemed that was the point of impact. There were at least six breaks in the bone below the knee that Tony could see, two above. The bone was sticking out in at least five of those breaks. It was hard to tell if there was more damage based on the sheer amount of blood it was doused in. 

Tony had to resist the urge to throw up as he stroked his kid’s curls and kissed his forehead softly. 

The suit stood guard between him and the entrance to the alley, but Tony kept his glasses on so he could monitor Peter’s vitals. It was only the fact that he could see his heart was beating and his lungs were taking in oxygen that kept the genius from going crazy just waiting. 

Finally, after the longest goddamn 4 minutes of his life, Tony saw the red and blue flashing lights and heard the high pitched shriek of the sirens. He was surrounded by EMTs, they were shining lights and yelling commands Tony had a hard time figuring out. One of them tried to pull Tony off of Peter. Tony immediately lunged out of the hold they had him in and tried to get back to his kid. Another EMT held him back, both trying to calm him down as he saw Peter get loaded onto a stretcher and fitted with a neck brace. He knew, knew that they were only helping, but he didn’t want anyone to touch Peter but him. He didn’t want his little boy -because he looked so little in this moment - to wake up in the hands of strangers, frightened and alone. 

He fought until he felt a tiny pinprick near his shoulder, and then all he saw was darkness.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Pepper:

Pepper was used to getting calls late at night, usually from business executives from the other side of the world. She was not used to seeing her phone light up with Christine Palmer’s number at three in the morning. 

She wondered briefly if Tony had gotten himself into some kind of trouble (again) before she answered the phone. 

“Hi Ms. Potts, you need to get to the hospital as soon as you can. Your son’s been in an accident and Stark had to be sedated,” Christine practically yelled. Everything became a mess as soon as Tony Stark was seen cradling a teenage boy and crying about his “son”.

Pepper was extremely confused, but she put on her shoes and raced for the elevator Friday already had open for her. She made a mental note to thank her later. 

Pepper’s voice was still hoarse with sleep. “What do you mean my son?”

Christine huffed. “Tony’s son, whatever, it’s really not the time for technicalities. His ID says his name is Peter Parker.”

Suddenly things made a little more sense to Pepper. Of course they would think Peter was Tony’s son. For all intents and purposes, he acted like a father to the kid. And, Pepper couldn’t lie, she found herself feeling the same parental instincts well up inside her whenever the kid came over to the tower. 

She realized suddenly that her moment of clarity was overshadowed by the fact that this meant Peter had been in an accident. Her Peter. 

She stepped on the gas of the car she couldn't remember getting into. Christine must have hung up on her after her long, shocked silence. 

After another grueling 15 minutes, she pulled up to the emergency room of the hospital. As soon as Christine saw her, she came running to her. Something about the look on her face made tears spring to Pepper’s eyes. She didn’t know what she would do if Peter…

Christine saw the change in her face and was quick to ease her fears. “He’s alive. He’s still in surgery though, and there’s a lot of damage. Tony should be coming to in a few hours, so perhaps I should wait until he’s up to give you both the rundown?”

Pepper swallowed, “No I need to know… Please.”

“Right”, Chrsitine grimaced. “The good news is that he’s gonna make it. We easily repaired the break in his arm and stitched up the cuts from the broken glass -”

Pepper gasped. “What exactly happened to my kid?” She didn’t have time to think about the fact that she had just called Peter her kid. 

“He fell out of his bedroom window,” she said. “At least that’s our working theory right now.”  
Pepper felt a sudden horrible realization strike her as she stood up. “Wait he can’t, he can’t be in this hospital-”

Christine grabbed her arm and brought her back down to the chair. “Dr. Cho was alerted. I’m not authorized apparently to know why she had to be here, but I assume it has something to do with you freaking out just now.” 

Pepper sighed in relief. 

“Wait, you said that was the good news. What’s the bad news?

Christine gave her a sympathetic smile. “It appears that the primary point of impact from the fall was his right leg. There was a lot of damage. Compound fractures, snapped ligaments, torn muscles. He even shattered his patella.” She took in a breath. “There was nothing we could do but amputate.


	2. Waking Up and Seeing You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony wakes up and finds out the news. Peter wakes up after a rough couple of days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the support so far! 
> 
> TW: Mentions of child abuse.

Tony:

Tony woke up immediately annoyed by the consistent beeping by his right ear. Though, he had been in the hospital enough times in his life to get his bearings fairly quickly and realize that it was a heart rate monitor. He felt a moment of confusion as to what he had done to land himself hospitalized again before he remembered - 

Tony shot up, yanked at whatever wires were tethered to him. He was panicked. He needed to see his kid. 

A gentle hand pushed him back onto the bed. Tony looked up into Pepper’s face, still puffy with sleep and tears. 

She had been crying. Oh God what if she had been crying because… “Peter?” He asked. 

She gave him a sad smile. “He should be getting out of surgery soon. He’s going to make it. Cho was here and she oversaw everything, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Tony could sense she was holding something back. “What is it Pep? I need to know.”

Pepper gave a little sob. “They had to amputate his leg. There was too much damage to save it.”

Tony fell back onto the bed, feeling as though the wind had just been knocked out of him. He felt awful. He felt as though he had failed his kid.   
No, he didn’t even have the right to call Peter his. He had clearly messed up too much for that. Tony knew he would never forgive himself if this was spiderman related. He should have tried harder to stop him. He shouldn’t have been going out and fighting crime. He’s a kid for God’s sake. 

In that moment Tony knew he would be there for Pete in whatever capacity the kid wanted him to be. But he would understand completely if he kicked the older man out of his life as soon as he saw him. 

At the very least Tony would be paying for everything, no matter what the kid or May said. 

Oh shit. May. 

He had to find a way to tell her what had happened. 

Before Tony could dwell too much on it, Christine came into the room. “He’s out of surgery and he’s been moved to a private room. You can come see him if you’d like.”

Both Pepper and Tony were out the door in an instant. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Peter:

Peter’s head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. Everything seemed hazy. His brain couldn’t process where he was or what had happened. He vaguely registered the feeling of cotton sheets covering him, the soft crinkle of his hair on the pillow sheet, and the pinprick of a needle in his arm. 

Oh. And the pain. 

Breathing hurt. Every time he inhaled Peter felt a sharp stab of pain. He figured he had a few broken ribs, nothing he hadn’t felt before. His left arm felt heavy, though mostly numb. His face burned, especially around his eyes. And his leg. Something felt off, There wasn’t pain per se, but a feeling of … almost pressure. But lightness at the same time. Peter desperately wanted to pull the sheets back and look, but he found he couldn’t quite make his body do what he wanted. He felt a brief stab of panic as he wondered if he was in a vegetative state or something and he distantly registered the steady beeping by his ear increase sporadically. 

Peter felt himself relax almost against his will as a familiar, calloused hand ran its fingers through his hair. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as the fingers soothed his growing headache and quelled his panic. The beeping noise evened out and Peter found himself able to focus on the soft murmurs near his other ear. 

“Petey. Baby. Please wake up.” Tony’s voice was gruff with unshed tears. “We miss you so much.”

Peter felt his own eyes moisten as he listened to the pain in his mentor’s voice. He hadn’t thought Tony cared this much. Peter certainly didn’t deserve to have someone feel this way about him. He ruined everything around him. 

He tried so hard to open his eyes for Tony. Just to reassure him. To make him stop sounding so broken. 

His eyes wouldn’t cooperate with him, but he found the strength to squeeze his hand. The hand that was wrapped around one of Tony’s own. He felt the older man give a small jump of surprise. 

“Underoos?” 

Peter squeezed again. 

Tony gave a meek, hopeful chuckle. “Thank God. The anesthesia Cho gave you was synthesized for Cap. It definitely kept you under but you had an adverse reaction to it. It’s going to be a little hard to wake up Pete but I really need you to try.”

Peter felt himself get a little annoyed with Tony when he said that. Of course he was trying. 

But Tony was being so open with him. For the first time in a long time, Peter felt wanted by someone. He tried his best to open his eyes again. 

Finally. Finally, Peter felt the slight stream of light as his eyelids fluttered. He felt blinded and hissed in pain as he squeezed his eyes shut again to block out the assault to his senses. 

Tony cursed under his breath. “Friday dim lights to 30%.”

Peter felt more than saw the lighting in the room decrease. He opened his eyes again, more cautiously this time. He was met with the image of Tony, gazing at him with something that looked to Peter a lot like love. 

He had to be mistaken though. Why would Tony look at him like that?

“Hey Buddy,” the genius breathed. He reached a hand up to Peter’s cheek and stroked along the edge of his cheekbone. Peter felt himself lean into the touch. It had been so long since he had been touched in a way that wasn’t meant to inflict pain. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter mumbled. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Tony:

Tony nodded. “Yeah i'm right here baby. You’re in the medbay at the tower. You were in a pretty bad … incident.” He paused at the word. He wasn’t sure how much Peter remembered. Since he had been asleep, Tony had found out some less than pleasant things about how exactly his kid had ended up in that situation. 

He continued after quelling his remaining anger for fear he would scare Peter. “Pepper’s at a meeting right now, but she’s been by your side almost as much as I have. You’ve been out for a good three days kiddo.”

Peter gave a little shudder. Tony suspected he had just remembered what had happened. He looked at Tony with vulnerable eyes. “May?”

Tony felt his gut clench. He didn’t know how Peter would react to the news. She had abused him, but Tony knew from personal experience that it didn’t always feel as though that was the full story. “She’s being held for attempted murder.” He took a breath. “Pepper and I have custody of you for now.”

Peter made a choked sound so horrible Tony didn’t know whether to take him in his arms and never let go, or run away. His eyes welled with tears and his hand clenched tightly around Tony’s. “She can’t…. She can’t hurt me anymore?”

Tony felt his chest unknot a little bit. He could deal with this so far. “No baby. She can’t hurt you anymore. She won’t be able to hurt you ever again.”

Peter nodded, a little breathless. Tony considered fitting him with an oxygen mask. “She tried to - to kill me?”

This question was a little more complicated. “We don’t know what her intentions were. And she won’t talk. But um… she -”

Peter interrupted him. “Threw me out of a window.”

Tony nodded, struggling to hear his kid sound so nonchalant about his aunt, who was supposed to love him, abusing him like this. 

Peter gazed dazedly back at Tony. For the first time since he woke up, Tony realized Peter was still on some pretty strong pain medication. 

“I’m staying with you and Ms. Pepper?” the younger boy asked. 

Tony nodded. 

“Are you going to hurt me?”

Tony felt a piece of his heart break at the question. Just looking into Peter’s wide trusting eyes, knowing how much he had been through and all that lay in store for him, made Tony want to burn the whole world down as long as this kid never had to suffer again. “I will never hurt you baby. Never.”

Peter nodded with hooded eyes. Tony doubted whether he would remember the conversation the next time he woke up. 

The billionaire stroked his hand through Peter’s curls again. He knew how much it relaxed him. “Get some sleep buddy. I promise me or Pepper will be here the next time you wake up.”

Pete gave a non committal hum to show Tony he’d heard. The older man continued to stroke Peter’s hair until his breathing evened out and he was sure he was asleep. 

“I’m gonna be better for you kid. I don’t know how to do this, but I’ll try my best to do right by you. And where I screw up, you’ve got Pepper. She loves you so much. We both do. I know you’ve only ever had love tied to pain, but I promise you that, as long as I’m alive, no one is ever allowed to make you think you deserve to be hurt again.”


	3. Finding Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter wakes up to find out what happened while he was out, and Tony and Pepper realize they're helicopter parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys! I just want to say thank you so much for all the support this work has received in such a short amount of time. I'm trying to update every day for this work, so hopefully you guys should be getting pretty consistent content. Also, if you want to drop a prompt down below for the rest of the series, don't hesitate to do so!
> 
> TW: Aftermath of child abuse.

Pepper:

The next time Peter woke up, Pepper had finally gotten Tony to go up to the room for a shower and a nap. She was sitting next to her kid’s bedside reading Michelle Obama’s new book. It was still so crazy to think of Peter as her kid, but there had been no question about who would take him in as soon as the cause behind his injuries was revealed. 

Pepper felt such intense anger when Christine told them about all the remodeled fractures, the bruises consistent with fists and not a fall, the improbability of Peter having fallen out of his window unless he jumped - or was pushed. 

She had called May immediately, not really wanting to believe it. Thinking that maybe it wasn’t what she thought and it was related to spiderman. 

May had answered, slurred voice and alcohol laden words. Pepper had yelled at her. Told her that her nephew was in the hospital. May had scoffed and said she didn’t care about that -

Well, Pepper didn’t want to think about what she had called Peter. 

She had hung up in a haze of rage. Tony had to keep her from going after May herself for everything she had put her boy through. Instead, Tony had called the cops and had her arrested for child abuse. Eventually the justice department added the attempted murder charge 

Peter was going to go into the foster system as soon as he was released from the hospital, but Pepper stepped in immediately. She registered herself and Tony as foster parents and filed for Peter to be put under their care. Eventually they would adopt him, but once they had had a chance to talk it over with him and make sure he was ok with everything that was happening. They never wanted him to feel like he didn’t have control over his own life. 

While Pepper was dealing with all the legal aspects, Tony was staying by Peter’s side as he had a reaction to the anesthesia. He went into a coma and Tony decided to move him to the tower’s medbay in order to ensure he was getting the best care possible as well as his privacy. Last night, he had called Pepper in a mess of tears, crying about how Peter had finally woken up. She had rushed from her meeting back to the tower, but Peter was already asleep again by the time she got there. 

She had insisted that she wouldn’t be moving from her post again until Peter woke up and saw her. The CEO needed the young boy to know that she was as much in his corner as Tony was. She knew it would be a while until he was able to trust her, especially because he had been abused by the female authority figure in his life, but she was more than willing to put in the work.

Pepper was so lost in her own thoughts she didn’t notice the pair of dark brown eyes staring at her from the bed. 

“Ms. Pepper?” the young boy croaked hoarsely. 

Pepper jumped in surprise. “Peter! You’re awake.”

Peter nodded, looking exhausted but much more coherent than Tony had described him the last time he had woken up. “Could I -” He interrupted himself and looked down at his hands sheepishly, as if berating himself for even speaking. 

Pepper reached towards his hand slowly - giving him a chance to pull away if he needed to - and rubbed it soothingly. “You can ask for anything you need Peter. I promise you won’t be in trouble.”

He looked up at her and swallowed. “Could I have some water?” He coughed. “Please?”

Pepper stood after giving him a small, reassuring smile and went to get him some water. 

She probably shouldn’t have left him alone before getting a chance to talk to him. 

When she got back, she almost dropped the water cup. Peter was staring at the stump of his right leg, the covers pulled back to reveal the bandages. His mouth was open in shock and his eyes looked suspiciously shiny. Pepper hurried to his side, immediately enveloping him in a hug after putting the cup on the bedside table, pulling the sheets over his waist again. She realized too late that Peter might freak out at the unexpected touch, but thankfully rather than shy away from it, he seemed to lean into the comforting hold. 

Pepper stroked the teen’s back as he started to cry silently. He hiccuped with tears every couple of seconds, but other than that he remained mute. Pepper didn’t know whether saying something would help or hurt at this point. She had planned a better way to let him know what had happened, although there was no good way to let someone know something like this. 

Eventually Peter’s cries softened until he was just staring blankly ahead while cradled in Pepper’s arms like a child half his age. 

They stayed there for what felt like hours before Peter spoke up. “Are you going to give me back now?”

Pepper startled and pulled away to get a better look at his face, but Peter immediately freaked out. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please don’t leave!”

Pepper gaped down at the young boy in her arms and slowly leaned down to press a kiss onto his forehead. “Sweetheart please don’t apologize. You haven’t done anything wrong, I promise. I’m not going anywhere, and we are definitely not giving you back. Not to May and definitely not to any system.”

Peter nodded hesitantly, as if trying his best to believe her. “What - What happened to my leg?”

Pepper expected the question, but she still felt dread build up inside of her. “When May… When she did what she did, you landed on your leg. There was too much damage. The doctor’s were forced to amputate.”

Peter looked a little like he was trying to process the information, but he was reacting a lot better than Pepper expected him to. She had prepared herself for screaming and anger. For threats and bargaining and every stage of grief under the sun. Instead Peter looked as though this was just something he had been expecting; as if he was waiting for life to screw him over again. 

Pepper hated that his face even knew how to form that look. 

“But, Tony’s already working on a prosthetic like Bucky’s arm. It’ll be fully functional and everything. And Bruce is working on a physical therapy program for you and -”

Peter interrupted her. “Do you think that I’ll ever be able to be spiderman again?”

A deeper voice answered from the doorway. “Of course kiddo.”

Peter’s face lit up. “Mr. Stark?”

Tony shook his head, a fond smile passing over his features. ‘Kid I think you can call me Tony now.”

Peter laughed at that, then winced, suddenly reminded of his broken ribs. 

Both Pepper and Tony - like the helicopter parents they were turning out to be - jumped into action, asking him if he was ok, if he needed anything, whether he was comfortable. 

“Yes! I’m fine. It’s just a few broken ribs, nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

A heavy silence fell over the medbay room. Pepper became immediately aware of Tony’s breath catching. She was sure he was as enveloped in his memories of his childhood as Peter was in memories of the past few years with May. 

After a good two minutes she decided enough was enough. “Okay, we can’t just pretend everything is completely normal. At some point - it doesn't have to be now - we’ll need to talk about the situation.”

Tony nodded, though he still looked a little lost in his memories. 

Peter looked at her. He seemed scared of what he was going to say next. “If it’s ok Ms. Pepper, I don’t think I want to talk about it just yet.” When he was done he flinched away from her, as if expecting to be hit. 

Pepper and Tony shared a sad look. 

“Whenever you’re ready Peter. This all happens on your terms,” said the redhead.


	4. Harsher Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter tries to come to terms with his new situation, darker truths are revealed, and Tony starts to accept that he is not his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fierce Pepper and vulnerable Tony yay! Also sorry Pete, I just can't stop whumping you. 
> 
> TW: Panic attacks, mentions of past child abuse. 
> 
> Stay safe and thank you for all the support! :))

Peter:

Peter was still struggling to get used to all the changes that he had become aware of within the last few hours. The fact that he wasn’t going to have to worry about beatings - hopefully - ever again was perhaps more shocking than it should have been.

He honestly felt it was too good to be true. Though some part of him really wanted to believe that things would be better now, most of his brain was screaming at him that he couldn’t mess up. All he had to do was test Tony or Pepper’s patience for them to send him into the foster care system. Maybe they would even beat him before they got rid of him. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Bruce entering into the room with a light knock. He was wearing a white lab coat, letting Peter know this wasn’t a social visit. 

Bruce smiled at Peter then turned to talk to Tony who was sitting on the couch filling out some more forms for Peter’s guardianship. “Hey Tone, I need you to sign a consent form for Peter to get an MRI done. We just wanna make sure that concussion is being taken care of by his super healing.”

Tony took the form and signed it easily, not really noticing how Peter’s blood ran cold. He HATED small spaces. He was pretty sure it stemmed from May locking him in his room so often, and for so long. Maybe from before when his parents had made him sleep in the closet that time he broke a plate on accident, and that other time, and the one after that... Either way, the only thing Peter knew for sure is that being in such a small space as an MRI machine was bound to freak him out. 

He didn’t want to be a bother though… As much as he didn’t really trust the situation thus far, at least Tony and Pepper had gotten him medical care and fed him. He didn’t really want to mess this up. 

So he sucked it up all the way to the MRI room. As Bruce wheeled his bed up to the machine Peter felt himself clench up. He sucked in a small breath as he was helped into a sitting position and then shuffled slowly onto the chamber bed. He didn’t let the breath go until he realized how tight his lungs were beginning to feel. 

In a moment of panic he exclaimed, “Wait Bruce!”. He shut his eyes tight. He shouldn’t be asking for anything. He shouldn’t. “Can you ask Tony if he can be in the room?” 

Fuck. He shouldn’t have asked. 

“Yeah of course Peter. I’ll be right back.”

Exhale. 

Peter was left alone with his thoughts and regretting being a burden. He knew Tony couldn’t even technically be in the room with him. He had to stay with Bruce in the viewing chamber, but maybe just hearing his voice….

Bruce and Tony walked in and Peter looked towards his new guardian, trying to hide the panic on his face. Tony grabbed the microphone that was near the monitor and pulled it near his face. 

“Hey buddy, is everything ok?”

Peter nodded. Too stubborn to tell him that he was scared. 

Tony smiled a little sadly. “Okay buddy. You’re doing great. I’m so proud of you.”

Peter looked to Bruce and gave a small nod, his eyes a little shinier than they had been two seconds ago. The whirring of the machine started and Peter felt the metal enclose him. He tried his best to steady his breathing. He did everything he could think of, but nothing was really helping. 

He was back in that stupid closet surrounded by spiders and cleaning supplies. He had pissed himself and the liquid was starting to itch around his groin. The bruises from last nights beating were particularly sore and he was worried he might have a cracked rib or two. 

He cried for hours. “Mommy!” She never came. 

“Daddy?”

“Shut up boy!” was the only response he got. 

It was hours before he was let out. He had stopped crying ages ago, the tears all dried up. 

Peter felt strong arms around him, a calloused hand carding through his hair. He couldn’t seem to get his bearings, but he knew that wasn’t his father. He had never touched him with warmth like this. Peter felt himself lean into it against all his self preservation instincts. 

“That’s it Petey, good job. Just keep breathing.”

The gentle words were breaking through the haze Peter felt surrounded in. He knew he should listen; something in him knew that voice meant safety. 

Eventually, after what felt like hours, Peter opened his eyes after realizing who was holding him. 

“-ony…”

Tony drew him a little closer and kissed the top of his head. “Hey kid. You gave us a bit of a scare there. I take it you’re not a big fan of closed spaces?”

Peter shook his head almost petulantly. He realized he was acting like a child but quite frankly he needed the comfort. “Could you call P-Pepper please?”

“Friday, get Pep in here please.” The AI responded, “right away sir.”  
Pepper was in the room within seconds, already basically frantic with concern. 

“Tony? Is something wrong?” She paused in surprise at the position they were both in. “Hey baby, are you okay? Did something happen?”

Peter nodded a little against Tony’s chest, then turned to face both of them. “You know how you said we’d need to talk about things eventually? Um… there’s something I need to say”

“What is it love?” She reached forward to grab his hand, running her thumb over the back soothingly.

“May wasn’t the only one who -” He inhaled shakily. “She wasn’t the only one who abused me. My parents - the biological ones - they used to…” He sobbed.

Tony rubbed his arm slightly in comfort. “It’s alright underoos, you can tell us anything.”

“They would lock me in the closet for hours or days at a time. Sometimes - most of the time… they’d beat me beforehand”

Both Pepper and Tony took in a breath, trying not to let their anger show on their faces for fear of upsetting the kid. 

“That’s why I freaked out in the MRI machine, I’m really sorry, I just -”

Tony shook his head. “Don’t apologize Peter. I should have asked. I promise you any treatment that’s not life-saving, we’ll discuss beforehand. And any boundaries you have we will respect. That’s a promise.”

“Tony’s right” Pepper nodded. “I know this is all really new and difficult right now, but we’re in this with you Pete, okay? We’ll be here no matter how long it takes for you to believe that.”

Peter’s face was wet with tears, but for the first time in a while, they were happy tears. He couldn’t trust this just yet, but he felt loved, and that was more than he ever thought he would get. 

His eyelids grew heavy as he was warmly enveloped by two people that he - that he loved. 

Eventually he fell into a dreamless sleep. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Tony:

Tony breathed a sigh of relief when he finally felt Peter relax fully against him, still on the MRI table. He wrapped his arms under the kid and carried him bridal style back to his personal room, cautious of his still healing frame. 

He settled him gently on the bed and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead. Even in his sleep Peter seemed to relax a bit at that. Tony knew from firsthand experience how exhausting panic attacks could be, so he didn’t blame the kid for conking out on them. 

He turned to Pepper who was waiting for him by the doorway and pulled her into a tight hug. Against his will a small sob escaped him. 

Pepper shushed him gently and led him to a sitting room where Pete couldn’t hear them if he woke up. She rubbed his back and let him cry into her shoulder, not caring about the tears he was getting on her blouse. 

After a few minutes, his tears dried up and he looked up at Pepper. Her eyes were red rimmed, but she had managed to hold it together a lot better than he had. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?”, the redhead asked.

Tony sighed a little, but knew he should lest he risk his own panic attack later tonight. 

“I’m just so scared Pep. He’s just a kid and he’s already been through so much. More than anyone should have to go through but especially Pete. He deserves the best now that he’s out of that horrible situation, and I want to be that for him. But what if I can’t be? What if I screw up even more? What if… What if I’m just like my dad?” 

Pepper looked at him with incredulity written all over her features. “Are you serious Tony? Were you not just in that MRI room when you got him through a horrible panic attack? Did you not just kiss his forehead and lull him to sleep? Did you not just cry all over me because it hurt you that he’s been hurt? Do you seriously think Howard would have done any of that? I don’t know what it’ll take to prove to you that you’re not him. Sure, you’ve made some mistakes in your life, but never when it comes to Peter. He was your son long before we got custody of him, and you have never once been the cause of his pain.” She took in a breath. “I’m scared too Tony. I’m scared I won’t know how to help him through this. I’m scared he doesn’t trust me. I’m scared of being a mom because it was never really something I had planned. But I know, when I look at that boy, that he’s my son. And I love him. I would do anything for that kid, and I would never hurt him. I’m sure you feel the same way, but if you don’t then you need to say something now because I will protect him from anything and anyone that wants to harm him, including you if need be.”

“God Pepper, of course I would never hurt him. You know that. Not willingly at least… but what if I just -” Pepper cut him off. 

“Let’s not focus on the what if’s ok? Right now we just need to try our best to love the hell out of our kid, and help him whatever way he needs through his recovery.” She kissed his lips sweetly. “And if you’re gonna focus on a what if, have it be “what if I’m an amazing father? What if I’m exactly what Peter needs? What if we’ve found a family?”

Tony dropped his forehead onto Pepper’s and let out a breath. “Always so wise. You’re absolutely right. Let’s get back in there with our kid.”

He liked the sound of that. Our kid.


	5. Your Name to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter starts physical therapy and falls into bad memories after a slip-up. Tony and Pepper are there for him through it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update was late! I’ve been traveling. 
> 
> TW: Mentions of child abuse, mentions of child neglect, panic attacks, unintentional self-harm.

Pepper

Almost two weeks later, Peter’s healing had taken care of his injuries for the most part. He was still slightly malnourished since that bitch hadn’t really been feeding him what he needed, but he was doing ok. Bruce thought it was time to start physical therapy. The sooner the better so that Peter could regain as much mobility as possible before starting on the prosthetic. 

Peter seemed excited at the prospect of finally getting out of bed - he was so full of energy Pepper barely understood where he got it all - but Pepper had caught him worrying his lip more than once throughout the day as the occasion grew nearer. 

She grasped his hand - always within his line of sight - so that he would look at her. “We don’t have to do this today Peter. I know you’re a little more comfortable with Tony right now, and it really sucks he had to have a meeting today, but we can wait until tomorrow and you can do this with both of us.”

Peter’s eyebrows furrowed. “Bruce said that the sooner the better though…”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s true and we don’t want to put it off for too long, but as important as PT is, your comfort is just as important. Like I said Pete, this all happens on your terms.”

The brunet took a minute to think about it but eventually shook his head. “I want to do it today. And besides, I trust you as much as I trust Tony.” He cracked a smile. “I’m also so ready to get out of this bed. I think I’ve left a permanent imprint on it.”

Pepper laughed. “Fair enough Pete. Bruce should be here soon, so is there anything you need beforehand. Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“Nah I’m good, maybe just … a hug? If you don’t mind, of course, I don’t want to impose or anything but I was just thinking it’d be nice and I’m a little scared because I heard it hurts -”

“Peter stop. Of course I’ll give you a hug.” She took the small teen into her arms as he pressed his face into the crook of her neck. Like father like son she supposed. 

“And Pete, you’re never imposing. Ok?”

He hummed in acknowledgement. 

They stayed like that until they could hear Bruce’s footsteps coming towards the room. Pepper didn’t want to let go of her kid, but she knew that she had to. She did kiss his cheek before she let go though. Sue her, she was filled to the brim with love. 

Peter blushed a little and then turned to face Bruce who was pushing a wheelchair next to the bed. 

“Hey Pete”, Bruce smiled at him. “You ready?”

Peter looked at Pepper with wide eyes before turning back to Bruce and nodding firmly. 

The scientist helped Peter shuffle slowly onto the wheelchair - Peter too stubborn to just let him carry him. He was wheeled to the other side of the medbay, Pepper trailing behind, into a room that looked almost like a gym, but with a few additions. Bruce directed them over to an area with mats and some weights. 

“Do you want me to stay here honey or sit in the waiting room?” Pepper asked. 

Peter winced, wanting her there but too accustomed to never asking for anything directly. 

“It’s your choice Pete. No punishment either way, I promise.”

He closed his eyes more out of instinct than anything. With a lot of difficulty he managed a small, “stay?”

She smiled at him, calming him down almost immediately. “Of course baby.”

Bruce nodded. Pepper could tell he felt like he was intruding on a private moment, so she nodded at him to go ahead and went to find a chair. 

Bruce looked at him. “Alright Pete. Let’s get started, yeah?”  
Peter nodded, excited again. “Let’s do it.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Tony:

He walked through the halls of the medbay on his way to Peter’s room when he heard the sound of chattering. He smiled as he recognized the sound of his fiancee and son. 

“Pep it went great! I mean, there’s still a long way to go and Bruce said I’ll probably be really sore tomorrow, but he said I can probably graduate to the crutches in three days and then I’ll be able to get to the bathroom without having dad help me and -”

The rest of the conversation was lost to Tony. All he could think about was the fact that Peter called him dad. 

Tony felt warmth blossom in his chest, thinking of how in just a few weeks he had grown to love and care for the kid more than he thought he was capable of. He knew he had loved Pete before he had taken him in, but the feeling he had now was incomparable to anything he had ever experienced. 

He smiled slightly, looking down at the floor. 

He walked towards his son’s room dazedly, only to start running when he heard tortured begging. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!” Then wailing. “I’ll be good, I promise!”

“Peter please, baby please! Just breathe!” Pepper’s tear-filled voice followed. 

Turning the corner, Tony was faced with a sight that would be burned into his eyes forever. His son was clawing at his arms, blood oozing from the now open wounds. He was hyperventilating, gripping his hair and tugging. Tears were streaming from his scrunched up face, pain evident in the way he writhed. Pepper was trying her best to calm him down but he wasn’t there enough to hear her. She was crying too, seeing Peter like this undoubtedly hard for her. Tony felt his own tears spring up at seeing the two people he loved most like this.

He took a breath and rushed in. The billionaire grabbed onto Peter’s arms and tried to take him into his own. Peter struggled against him, and Tony knew that if he was at full strength he wouldn’t have stood a chance but as it was it was fairly easy for Tony to wrap his arms all the way around his son and pull him into his chest. 

He made soothing noises, shushing his child as the fight slowly left him and he collapsed against Tony’s chest, sobbing. 

They stayed like that, the older man rocking his son until the tears died down enough that he wasn’t scared Peter would try to hurt himself again. 

After another 10 minutes, he pulled away slightly, gripping Peter by the shoulders. The younger boy whimpered a little but allowed himself to be pulled away. His eyes were downcast until Tony tilted his chin up to face him. 

His son looked so scared, all Tony wanted was to take him back in his arms and never let go, but he knew they needed to talk about it. 

First though, he needed to take care of his kid. 

“C'mon buddy, let’s get you cleaned up.” He lifted his kid off the wheelchair he was still sitting in and placed him on the bed Pepper had inclined to a sitting position. 

Tony tucked him in and rubbed the tears off his cheekbones before turning to Pepper. “Could you get me some gauze and rubbing alcohol Pep?” The redhead nodded, wiping at her own cheeks harshly. 

Peter looked up at him, scared. Tony knew he wanted comfort but wouldn’t ask for it, so Tony took it upon himself. “Could you sit with him Pep? It’s only gonna sting a little Pete but if you need to we can stop whenever.”

Pete nodded, lips tight. Pepper sat herself behind him and slowly stroked her hands through his hair until some of the tension left his body. “You can close your eyes if you need to baby. I’ll be right here and so will Tony.”

Peter shut his eyes, not talking but leaning into the redhead a little more. He nodded. 

Tony took a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol and rubbed it over the cuts on Peter’s arms. He winced slightly at the sting but didn’t flinch. They already seemed to be beginning to heal, but Tony didn’t want to risk infection. He then wrapped gauze and medical tape around the areas he had just cleaned and made sure the dressings were stable before putting away the leftover supplies. 

He took a breath and turned back around, Peter still leaning against Pepper, face pinched in discomfort. Tony sat on the bed with a sigh, taking Pete’s hand into his own. They had been working on being comfortable with touch, and hand holding had so far only offered him comfort and not triggered him. 

“Buddy, we need to talk about what just happened.” The mechanic rubbed his eyes. “We don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but anything that endangers your safety or well-being needs to be discussed.”

A tear slipped out of the teenager’s eyes. He shook his head and mumbled something.

“What was that buddy?”

A sob. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!”

Tony was confused, wondering what the hell Pete thought he needed to apologize for. 

“What are you sorry for baby?” Pepper asked, beating him to the question.

Pete looked up at her, and then slowly turned to Tony. “I - I called you dad…” a hiccup, “it was an accident I swear! I know I’m not supposed to! It won’t happen again! Please don’t hurt me… I’m sorry…” he whispered the last bit, and both Tony and Pepper’s hearts broke at the sound. 

Tony placed his hand on the younger boy’s face soothingly. “Sweetheart look at me.” When big brown eyes met his own he continued. “I’m not upset at all. In fact, I was incredibly happy when I heard you call me dad. I won’t force you to if you don’t want to, or if you don’t want to for now, or if you don’t want to forever. But if that’s how you feel, if that’s what you want, then I’d be honored to have you call me that. You’re my son Pete, and what you call me won’t change that. I’m not upset, nor will I ever be for something like this.”

Pepper stepped in. “Tony’s right love. Well be happy with whatever you decide that we are to you. We’re just happy to get to be in your life. There’s no pressure on our side, ok?” 

Peter nodded shakily.

“Good,” the redhead continued. “Do you think you could tell us why that triggered you so badly?”

A small gasp escaped the boy as he was once again engulfed in memories, but Pepper pulled him into her and Tony stroked his hand until he calmed down enough that they didn’t fear another panic attack. 

“One time… on accident, I called May- I called her mom. It was a few months after I moved in with them. Up until then, things were pretty good. I mean, I know now she wasn’t exactly the most loving, but they hadn’t locked me in any closets or beat me or anything so I figured that she… loved me-“ His skinny frame trembled at the memories. “Anyways when I called her -that- she freaked out. She screamed at me about disrespecting my actual mother and how I was a- a disgrace to my parents. She said all these horrible things and then she … she beat me for the first time. It wasn’t that bad compared to some other times. She only used her fists instead of a belt or anything, but that was when I realized that I couldn’t- shouldn’t trust anyone. Ben cleaned me up after and comforted me, but he made sure I knew I couldn’t tell anyone. I was so scared. Of both of them really. I knew I couldn’t tell anyone… I never called her mom again.”

Both Tony and Pepper were close to tears as they gazed at the boy in their arms, stunned by the story and his show of strength in telling it. They wished more than anything that they could take his pain off of him and put it on themselves.

After a few minutes, Tony broke the silence. “Underoos… I hate that you went through that, and I realize that a few words aren’t gonna undo years of conditioning. We’ll work on that when you’re ready to, but I want you to at least hear me say this. We love you. Unconditionally. And we would never hurt you. When I was growing up, my dad wasn’t the best. Granted it wasn’t even a sliver of what you’ve gone through, but I know what it feels like to be betrayed by the people that are supposed to care for you. It took me years to let Pepper in as more than a secretary. But she stuck by me, and I learned that trust is hard to give, but incredible to have. I promise you buddy, I know you can’t believe this right now, and I get it. No one’s blaming you, but you can trust us. We’ll be here no matter what. You don’t have to be afraid to make mistakes, ok? You’re a teenager, so you’re gonna make some, but we will never hurt you for them. At worst we’ll forbid you from watching Star Wars.” A light chuckle. “But seriously. Whatever you want to call us is your choice, and we will always respect it. We will never take that choice away from you.”

Pepper nodded and pulled her son away to look at her face. “Tony’s right. We’re here to love and support you baby, not ever be the cause of your pain.”

Peter let out a heart wrenching sob as he collapsed into his parent’s arms. All three enveloped in a hug, the center murmuring endlessly, “thank you, thank you.”


	6. The Start of Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter realizes that love isn’t temporary, and finally gets around to letting Tony and Pepper know what they are to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really fluffy and one of my favorites in this whole fic. It shouldn’t be a triggering chapter but there are some mentions to things so remember to stay safe!
> 
> TW: mentions of past child abuse.

Peter

Peter woke up feeling sore but admittedly much better emotionally than the night before. He still trembled at the idea of doing something wrong, but he was fairly certain he wouldn’t get hit if he did. Sitting up slightly and looking to his right he saw Tony and Pepper asleep on the couch next to his bed. 

He allowed himself to try out the words in his head. Mom and dad. It felt right in a way it had never felt with May or even with his biological parents. This was the most loved and safe he had ever felt, and his parents - his mom and dad - had made that possible. 

The teenager wasn’t sure he was ready to say it out loud, but for now he let himself feel the warmth of having doting parents, of not being an orphan. He allowed himself to feel like someone’s kid. 

But it was better to get this over with before he got too used to the feeling.

“Tony?” the kid asked hesitantly. 

The older man stirred slowly. “Pete?” he whispered gruffly, disentangling himself from Pepper’s sleeping form slowly. “What’s wrong?”

The teen smiled slightly at the show of concern. He was still getting used to someone caring so much about his well being, but it was a nice feeling. “Nothing’s wrong, I was just wondering…. could we go for a walk?”

Tony’s face softened. “Yeah buddy, you feeling cooped up?”

“A little,” answered the younger boy. “I also wanted to talk?”

“Whatever you want kid. Lemme get the wheelchair.”

Tony returned and helped him into the chair, taking a second to card his fingers through his hair. The teen smiled softly at the motion. It was quickly becoming his favorite show of affection. 

They stayed in comfortable silence as Tony wheeled Peter around the medbay and then into the elevator up to his personal floor. They turned into the kitchen and Peter picked at his nails as Tony put a pot of coffee on. 

“You’re technically not supposed to have caffeine, but I won’t tell if you don’t.” Peter smiled conspiratorially and accepted the steaming cup from his father-figure. Tony pulled up a chair and sat next to his kid, both enjoying the moment of peace. 

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Tony wasn’t exactly known for his patience. 

“I wanted to talk about… well what happens after?”

Tony’s brows furrowed. “After what?”

Peter squirmed a little in the chair. “After I’m healed. I’m so grateful to you and Pep for taking me in through all this, but I think I need to start thinking about where I’m going to live… after it’s over.”

Tony’s face was a mask of shock. “Over? Peter what are you talking about? We’re not kicking you out after you’re healed!”

Now it was Peter’s turn to look confused. “But you said - you said you and Pepper had custody of me for now.”

Tony’s face dropped in realization. “I didn’t mean it like that! We’re technically your foster parents right now, but Pete, we want to -” He paused. “We want to adopt you.”

“You want to what?” Peter’s voice cracked with emotion. 

“Adopt you. You’re already our kid, but we want you to legally be our kid too. Only if you want to though. We wanted to talk to you about it before we did anything because we wanted you to have control over your life now that you can. Honestly this was going to be a huge talk with a party and cake and everything. Frankly Pepper might kill me for telling you without her.” A fond look. “But I couldn’t let you keep thinking this was just temporary kiddo. This can be forever if you want it to be…”

A pause. Then Peter threw himself at his dad, finding his place in his arms. “Of course I want it to be forever. I - I love you.” A shaky breath. “Dad…”

Tony’s arms tightened around his son. “I love you too baby. More than you know.”

A silent tear escaped Peter’s eyes at the statement. At the realization that he was loved, finally loved. 

Tony pulled away after a bit and gave him an excited grin. “Since we’re up here… I have something I want to show you.”

Peter nodded, confused, but allowed himself to be wheeled towards what looked like the door to one of the many guest bedrooms. 

Tony stopped in front of it. “Ok, if there’s anything you want to change, we can do it. Don’t be afraid to ask for anything.”

He opened the door.

Peter gasped, faced with a room completely different than he remembered it looking from his visits to the tower. There was a loft bed with an office area underneath, a sitting room with a flat screen TV to the side, all the newest gaming consoles next to it. The walls were covered with Star Wars posters and even one portraying Spider-Man as an avenger. The closet was open, showing more clothes than Peter had ever owned combined. There was an en suite bathroom, a mini fridge, and a set of bars along the ceiling Peter could tell would be great for swinging. 

He knew without a doubt this room had been designed for him.

Tony mistook his silence for displeasure. “Hey, it’s ok if you don’t like it, we can have someone come and redo it and-“

Peter interrupted him, his eyes glossy. “It’s perfect.”

Tony looked at him. “Yeah?”

Peter smiled, a genuine smile, all teeth and dimples showing. “Yeah. Thank you.”

Tony kissed his forehead. “Anything for you Peter, you know that.”

“I’m starting to.”

———————————————

Pepper:

It was only a few days later that Bruce deemed Peter healthy enough to stay in his own room. All the bones were healed, the cuts had scarred over, and the concussion - checked through x-rays - had been resolved by Peter’s super-healing. He was managing the crutches well, and the physical therapy was helping tremendously. 

Honestly, Pepper felt like a proud, well, mom. It was crazy to think about that, because if anyone had told her she would think of herself that way just six months ago, she would have laughed at them. She always thought her career was more important to her than the possibility of having kids, but now…

Well she loved being CEO of Stark industries, and she had no plans to give it up. But she knew every time she looked at Peter’s face that if it came to a choice between him and her career she wouldn’t even hesitate. 

Looking at him now, smiling brightly up at Tony as he hobbled into the elevator next to the two of them, she became instantly aware of the fierce desire she had to protect him from anything that could hurt him. 

“Pete can I hug you?” she asked out of the blue. 

Peter looked confused for a second. “Yeah of course you can.”

She drew him into her arms and gripped him like her life depended on it. His hands slowly reached up to grab her back and they stood there for a minute before she pulled away as the elevator reached their floor. 

“Why the hug?” the younger boy asked, a smile on his face regardless. 

She smiled back. “Because I love you baby.”  
A look of something passed over Peter’s features. It looked a little bit like determination to her. He stopped in his tracks, both parents turning to make sure he was ok. “I love you too mom.”

Pepper’s eyes filled with tears and Peter took a small step back, fear leaking through his certainty in his safety. Pepper was quick to ease his fears however as she threw herself around him, kissing the top of his head softly. 

They both laughed a little breathlessly. “Is everything going to be so dramatic and tear-filled around here forever?” Peter joked. 

Tony, gazing at them both lovingly, laughed. “Maybe not forever kiddie, but I think we’ve all earned the right to be a little dramatic.”


	7. Building Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony works on a special project for Peter, and Peter realizes he has more people in his corner than just his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m sorry this is so late, I’ve been really busy, but I like this chapter a lot so hopefully you guys do too. 
> 
> TW: Mentions of amputation.

Tony:

A couple of weeks had passed and Peter was steadily recovering. Physically he was doing excellent and Bruce assured Tony that he was improving in PT. For some reason the kid didn’t want Tony in the room with him, even though he let Pepper in with him. Tony tried not to take offense to it, although he couldn’t stop the twinge of jealousy that he felt every time the two went off for a session. He wouldn’t bring it up to the kid though. The most important thing was respecting Pete’s boundaries, and if Tony being there wasn’t what he was comfortable with, then he sure as hell wasn’t going to push the issue. 

Besides, Tony had another project on his mind. 

When Barnes had first returned, he had had Friday scan his arm to have the schematics in case something ever needed to be fixed. Those schematics gave him a lot of information on the housing system used so that he could control the arm just as he would a real limb. Unfortunately, the issue arose with the fact that Hydra hadn’t exactly been thinking of comfort when they had fused the hunk of metal to the former soldier. For Tony, it was different. The comfort of his kid was the most important thing.

He contacted princess Shuri of Wakanda for help, and together they came up with a way to attach a similar housing unit to Peter’s nerves without firing off any pain receptors. The leg itself would then be removable, much like Barnes’s new arm. Tony thought this would help Peter feel more in control of his body and more comfortable. He knew from the veteran’s Rhodes volunteered with that seeing a prosthetic attached to you where your leg used to be was jarring. Having it attached permanently was not the best idea, and Tony knew this would be enough of an adjustment as it was. 

The leg was done, the housing unit was built, he had even managed to make the foot “sticky” like the rest of Peter’s limbs. The only thing left was to talk to him about this, and let him know that he would need minor surgery to attach the housing unit. 

Pepper came into the lab as he was putting the finishing touches on the devices and moved to wrap her arms around him. 

“Hi honey.” She looked at the schematics on his laptop. “Is it ready?”

He nodded, turning to face her. “Yeah, I just need to talk to the kid about the surgery…”

“He’ll be fine. He trusts Cho, and he definitely trusts you.”

Tony sighed. “I know…. Well I hope anyways. I just want him to be happy.”

Pepper frowned. “Why wouldn’t you be sure he trusts you?”

“It’s just… the PT thing. I want him to be comfortable and if not having me there is what he needs, I get it, but I just feel like… I must be doing something wrong.”

A new voice joined them. “You’re not doing anything wrong dad…”

They both turned to face their kid, smiling at him almost against their wills. Tony stood to greet him and help him to the couch, the crutches propped against the wall. He sat next to the kid and pulled him into his arms, stroking the back of his head in what he hoped was a comforting manner. 

“It’s alright kid. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Peter sighed and shook his head. Pepper came up behind him to sit on his other side, holding his hand comfortingly. He gave her a small smile before looking back at Tony. 

“Dad, it’s just that… you’re a hero, and you’ve always been so strong. I’ve looked up to you since I was little, as embarrassing as that is. And, I like to think I’m pretty strong, or at least Spiderman is, but.... In PT, I just feel so weak. It’s like, I know I’m improving and that this is sort of an “in it for the long haul” kind of thing, but I don’t want freaking iron man to see me struggle to take five steps.”

Tony looked up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell he was going to do with this kid. “Peter, that isn’t weakness. That’s strength. You know how long it took me to relearn how to write after a nasty mission that broke two bones in my arm and 3 fingers? About a year. And my handwriting is still atrocious! Rhodey still tells me about his “little” milestones with the braces. Yesterday he called me and told me he finally managed a flight of stairs without the handrail. Trust me, “heroes” are the ones who get it.” His tone turned serious. “You lost a limb kiddo. That’s gonna take some time to adjust to, but I'm already so incredibly proud of you. And if you really don’t feel comfortable with me there, then it’s not an issue. But I never want you to think I would judge you.”

Peter nodded against his dad’s chest, warmth blossoming in his chest. “I know dad, I was just … scared I guess. But you’re right, this is going to be part of my life for a while, and you’re going to be part of my life hopefully forever-”

“Definitely forever.” Tony interrupted. 

Peter smiled. “Definitely forever. So if you can, I want you to come to the next session.”

A bright smile. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Pepper gazed at the scene before her lovingly. “Okay you two saps, how about we show Peter what you’ve been working on?”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Peter:

Surgery. 

Peter had put on a brave front when Tony had told him that the housing unit would need surgery to be implanted, but he wasn’t sure that Tony had completely bought it. To be completely honest, he himself wouldn’t have bought it if their roles had been reversed. 

It was only natural that Peter would be apprehensive; control issues were likely going to be a big thing for him for the rest of his life. The idea of being unconscious, putting his trust so completely in anyone other than Tony and Pepper right now was terrifying. He realized that technically Cho had already performed surgery on him before, but he hadn’t been conscious to give the ok beforehand. Now, the choice was in his hands, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to make it. 

He knew he should talk to someone about it, but he felt like he was being silly. Tony trusted Cho, and he trusted Tony. This shouldn’t be an issue. If anyone should have issues with surgery, it should be Tony. He had been operated on - without anesthesia - by terrorists! In comparison, Peter’s cushy surgery with arguably the best medical professionals in the world shouldn’t seem like a big deal. 

But it was. To him at least. 

He had been in his room for the last few hours, running the issue around in his head. He could hear Tony and Pepper whispering worriedly when he didn’t want to come out for dinner, and briefly hated himself for being such a burden on them. 

Breathe. 

He wasn’t a burden. They loved him. He was their son. 

He repeated the mantra over in his head until he felt his hands unclench, little crescent moon marks leftover from his nails. 

He had to talk to someone, and even if he wasn’t a burden, he didn’t want to worry his parents with this. 

Peter pulled the new starkphone Tony had gotten him and scrolled through the list of contacts, some preprogrammed in and some added by him. 

He came across a name that might just understand how he felt, and pressed call.


	8. Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets up with uncle Rhodey and has his first physical therapy session with the prosthetic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done guys! This is a pretty fluffy chapter but there is some angst coming up!
> 
> TW: after effects of child abuse.

Rhodey:

The phone rang and he groaned, dangerously close to telling Tony to stop calling until he looked at the caller ID and realized this was a call he wanted to handle carefully. 

Obviously, Tony finding himself a new parent had stressed him out, and not wanting to worry the kid or Pepper, Rhodey had found himself a temporary psychologist. He knew everything that Tony knew the kid wouldn’t have minded him sharing, but he hadn’t yet met his basically nephew because they were all apprehensive about introducing too many new things in Peter’s life at once. The kid needed stability after everything he had been through, and Rhodey wasn’t about to mess with that. 

But Peter was reaching out, and Rhodey knew that how he handled it now would determine his comfort level with him for years to come. 

No pressure or anything though. 

“Hey Peter what’s up?”

The other end of the phone took a sharp inhale. “Hey Mr. Rhodey, sir. It’s Peter… and you already knew that. Shoot ok, I’m sorry I’m gonna hang up now ...”

“NO! Peter - I mean, don’t hang up.” God he was already screwing this whole uncle thing up. “Just… you can talk to me.”

“Um. Ok. Do you think, at some point, if it isn’t too much of a bother I mean -” His voice quieted. Rhodey could tell this was hard for him. “We could meet up for coffee? And talk I mean?”

“Yeah! Yeah of course Pete. Um, are you feeling ok to leave the tower or should we meet at the starbucks there?”

“Um yeah, actually here is good. I don’t think mom or dad would be too thrilled about me leaving yet.” An awkward chuckle. 

Rhodey smiled despite himself at hearing the kid refer to his best friend as “dad”. “Alright buddy, sounds good. I’ll see you there in an hour?”

“Yeah, yeah. An hour.” A pause. “Thanks Mr. Rhodey.”

Exactly an hour later - hey, he was a military man - Rhodey was waiting for peter at the Stark Tower Starbucks - affectionately dubbed the starkbucks. Not long after, he saw the elevator open and a lanky teenage boy, with messy curls and deep brown eyes came hobbling over to where Rhodey was sitting. A part of him wanted to help him and grab the crutches after the kid was seated, but he knew from personal experience how annoying unwanted help could be. His leg braces whirred as if to remind him of this. 

It took him a little longer to settle than Rhodey thought the kid would have liked judging by the pink beginning to tinge his cheeks. Eventually, both men were seated, staring at each other over their coffee cups - Rhodey had ordered Peter a vanilla latte while he waited - both expecting the other to talk first. 

Peter broke first. “How did it feel?”

“How did what feel?” He furrowed his brows. 

“When you got the braces. Like… was it, I mean I’m sure it was great, but did you ever feel like …. You weren’t in control anymore?”

Tony had told him the kid was getting ready to try on the prosthetic, but not that he was feeling this way. “Well, I mean it was hard at first. It wasn’t like I put them on and I could walk again. It’s been hard - it still is. But at the end of the day I’m really grateful.” A pause. “That said Pete, that’s a personal experience. I’ve worked with a lot of vets over the years who didn’t feel the same. They tried prosthetics, they tried braces… nothing felt right. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s different for everyone. And if you feel like a prosthetic isn’t the right choice for you, then you don’t need to try it.”

“No I mean… it’s nothing like that.Or maybe it is. I mean, dad’s been really good about that and the prosthetic will be removable if it ever gets to be too much. It’s just… I’m going to have to have surgery to get the housing unit attached and… I don’t know if I can do it. “

Rhodey frowned. “Do you not trust Cho? Has she done something to upset you?”

Peter sighed. “No… She’s been great. Honest. It’s just that … I’ve never had control. And now that I have it, I don’t want to just give it up. Being unconscious just on the table like that, it scares me. I don’t want to lose control like that.”

“Ah” Rhodey leaned forward. “I see. Well ok, here’s how I think about it. It’s your choice Peter. Prosthetic or no prosthetic. Housing unit or no housing unit. It’s all your choice. I was really sorry to hear about how you grew up kid, but I can think of no one better to let you take control now than Tony. He knows what it’s like and you don’t have to, but if you talked to him about it, I’m sure he would tell you the same thing. It’s your choice to have the surgery. If anything, you’re in complete control.”

“You think so? I don’t want to disappoint him.”

“I know so. Tony could never be disappointed in you for something like that. If anything, he would be disappointed that you felt the need to do something you didn't want to just to please him.“

Peter smiled. “Thanks Mr. Rhodes.”

“Please kid, call me uncle Rhodey.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter:

A few days later, Peter woke up feeling groggy, a subconscious groan leaving his lips. Something was pressed against his mouth and he found himself drinking water before he realized what he was doing. The feeling was pure bliss against his throat and he felt less muddled as soon as he had swallowed the last drop.

He opened his eyes and was met with the two concerned faces of his mom and dad, hovering over him nervously, his dad holding a now empty cup of water with a bendy straw. 

“Hey” His voice sounded like it was brushing against sandpaper. “All done?”

Tony’s eyes crinkled. “Yeah buddy, all done. You did great.”

His mom brushed the hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead softly. “Rest love. We’ll be here when you wake up again.”

Peter found he had no trouble believing her. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was his first physical therapy session with the new prosthetic, and Peter was nervous. His parents and Bruce had insisted that any progress made in this session would be something to be proud of, but the teen was apprehensive it wouldn’t be enough. 

Both his parents were sitting in chairs against the wall, looking at him with loving gazes but trying to seem nonchalant. He gave them a small smile to try to put them at ease before facing Bruce again. Bruce was standing in front of him, Peter sitting in a wheelchair, a pathway in front of them with handrails on either side. 

“You ready Peter? Take all the time you need.” The scientist was calm and his voice was reassuring. It made Peter feel safe, so he took a few more seconds of breathing. 

“I’m ready.”

“Alright I’m right here to catch you if you need me to, but it’s all you.”

Peter nodded and reached to grab the handrails. He pulled himself up no problem - he was spiderman after all - but was still leaning his whole weight on his left leg. Nobody made any move to pressure him even as he waited there before attempting to move the prosthetic. 

It should work. It should work. It should work. 

He repeated this over in his head before any attempt to actually try came to mind. Eventually though, he knew he had to face the music. He thought about setting his foot down on the floor…

A slight movement caught his eye, and he looked down to realize in awe that he had done it! The leg had moved and Peter was now standing on both legs, his weight still mostly supported by his arms, but standing nonetheless. He could tell his parents were trying very hard to not make a big deal out of it, but they were both smiling as though he had just won the Boston marathon. Even Bruce was having a hard time keeping himself in check. 

“That’s a great job Peter. Whenever you’re ready, we can try a step.”

He nodded at the man.

With some effort, he managed to move the leg forward, and place it down, and then lift his other leg, and set it down, and then do it again. 

His movements were jerky and uncoordinated, and he felt as though he were lifting concrete rather than just taking a few steps, but he was walking!

Four steps in, he lost his balance and all but collapsed against Bruce, sweat pooling on his forehead and his breath seeming difficult to catch. 

Tony and Pepper ran forward to make sure he was ok, both sharing a glance of concern as he didn’t look up. They were gearing up for the “any progress is progress” speech when their son looked up at them, a blinding smile on his face. 

Yeah, they would be ok.


	9. Deserving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May pleads innocent. Tony talks to Peter about testifying and it doesn’t go as planned. Pepper puts her family back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy new year! I cannot believe it’s actually 2020. Anyways, sorry for the delay but the holidays are crazy. To make up for it here’s an extra long chapter. This is the last angsty chapter, and the next one is just a little resolution. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> TW: Mentions of past child abuse.

Tony

They would most certainly not be okay. 

He sat holding the envelope that had delivered the news in his hands, his lips pursed as he struggled against angry tears. 

May was pleading innocent. They would have to go to trial. 

And Peter would have to testify. 

Shit. 

Tony had no doubt they could win. The physical evidence was written all over his kid and his lawyers could take on a court appointed nincompoop in their sleep. 

But he had promised Peter that that woman could never hurt him again. He had made a promise to his kid and it seemed that no matter what route he took he was doomed to fail him. 

Pepper had left on a day trip to Philadelphia, and her day was booked with important meetings where he knew she would have silenced her phone. 

He would have to talk to Peter alone, which seemed fitting considering he had made the promise. 

Like a man walking to his own execution, he knocked on the kid’s door. 

“Come in!”

Peter was on the bed, reading a book and sporting the cutest bed head Tony had ever seen. He smiled up at his dad, looking as carefree as he ever did, the trust so visible in his eyes. 

Tony hated to ruin that. 

“Hey underoos. We have to talk about something important.”

Peter’s face changed immediately, all his old insecurities rushing to the forefront. “Are you sending me away?” His voice was so small, so broken. 

Tony rushed forward. “Of course not bambino, I would never. We would never. You’re our kid.”

Peter nuzzled into his dad, evening his breathing. “Sorry, I know. Just got scared.”

Tony wrapped his arms around his son. “Don’t apologize baby. It’s ok, I should have been more upfront.”

A few minutes passed before Peter pulled away. “Sorry, what did you want to talk about?”

Here came the hard part. “Pete… May is pleading innocent, which means we’re going to have to go to trial…”

“Oh”

“And the justice department wants you to testify…”

The kid looked up, expression carefully blank. “And what do you want?”

The question surprised him, and he couldn’t say he did a good job hiding it. “I want whatever keeps you safe Pete.”

That did not seem to be the right thing to say. “Oh you want me safe? Does it matter what I want? Huh?” Peter’s voice raised itself until he was screaming at Tony, angry tears streaming down his face. 

The kid stood, but without the prosthetic or the crutches, he face planted on the floor. Tony moved to help him up but before he could the kid shoved his hands away and hauled himself up with the wall as support. 

“Leave me alone! Leave me alone! I hate you!” 

Tony’s face was sad. “Alright kid, I’m going.” He put his hands up in the universal sign for surrender and left, taking one last look at his kid, leaning against the wall decidedly not looking at him. 

The door closed behind him. “Friday… keep an eye on him please. Make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

“Yes boss.” The AI sounded sad. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pepper:

She got home late, expecting to hear the laughter of her two boys or the sound of a Star Wars movie. Instead the house was quiet. 

She moved with caution, her hand over her watch face in case an intruder had come while she was gone. She felt a flash of worry at the thought, thinking of her husband and son. Even knowing they could take care of themselves - and each other - she couldn’t stop the feeling of dread building up inside of her with the wrongness of it all. 

She made it to her and Tony’s bedroom first, opening the door slowly. 

She made out a figure crouched in the corner, shaking lightly. Pepper rushed forward, realizing that it was Tony, and he was crying. 

“Hey, Tones, Tony what is it? What’s happening?” That dread again. “Is Peter ok?”

He looked up at her, the bags under his eyes prominent and accentuated by the red around his pupils. Tear tracks littered his face and his hair looked like it had been run through a million times. 

“Peter?” His voice was heartbroken. “I’m just like him Pep. He hates me…” The sobs took over again. 

Pepper rubbed his back soothingly, realizing she wasn’t going to get anything more from him. 

“Fri?”

“Yes Miss Boss?”

“Could you pull up footage of what he’s talking about?” She wasn’t about to jump to any conclusions. Tony might be saying that he was just like his father but Pepper knew him well enough to know he would never hurt Peter willingly. 

“Of course.” A video projected onto the wall next to where she sat, huddled against her fiancé.

She watched the whole thing, growing sadder with each minute. She didn’t blame her son at all, though his words had really hurt the man beside her. They would all have to sit down and talk, but she could tell the news had upset him, and he had reacted. 

She wasn’t angry, she was just sad. 

Pulling Tony up, she shuffled him into their bed, stroking his head until his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. 

And then she left to find their son.

The CEO knocked on his door, hearing shuffling behind it and realizing the kid wasn’t asleep. 

“Can I come in Peter?”

There was no answer but the shuffling got more intense. She frowned. 

“Peter I’m coming in now…”

She opened the door, shocked to see the young boy attempting to climb out the window of his room, a bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Peter!” she screamed. The young boy was clearly distraught, the tears streaming down his face with more intensity. She rushed forward, grabbing onto him and pulling as hard as she could. 

They tumbled down in a heap on the floor of the room. 

“Please, please, please -” Her son struggled to break out of her hold. “Let me go! You don’t know!”

Pepper held tight until the fight left him and he collapsed into her, sobbing into her chest. She shushed him softly, rocking the both of them until even the sobs evened out into whimpers. 

“Talk to me, baby. I saw the tape but I have a feeling that there's more going on that you’re not telling us about.”

She waited, letting Peter process. There was no rush. Slowly, the small teen nodded. 

Pepper breathed in sharply. “Could you tell me, honey?”

Peter shook his head, face scrunched up in pain. 

A sigh, “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me Pete.”

A harsh breath left her son. “I can’t! I’ve already let this go on too long. She’ll - She’ll hurt me.”

Pepper was starting to discern more about what was going on, and she couldn’t say she liked the picture it was painting. “Peter… Did May threaten you?”

Peter shook his head. 

“Did - Did she threaten us?”

A broken wail, then abruptly, a resigned nod. 

“Oh kid…” She gathered the child up in her arms, somehow pressing them closer together. They cried in unity, Peter still because he believed he was a danger, a burden. Pepper was crying for everything that had been stolen from the mere child in her arms. 

“Baby, May cannot hurt you anymore. She will never be able to hurt you again. Even if you choose not to testify, Tony and I won’t sleep until she’s locked up for good. You’re safe here, and we’re safe.”

“No - No… You don’t understand. She said such terrible things mom. Before she - did what she did - she told me that I ruined her life. That I would ruin anyone I touched. She said - that if I survived the fall, she would come for me. That I would never be free of her. And that - that if I ever tried to be free of her -” A sob. “She would do what she did to me, to anyone who had been kind to me. She told me I was worthless. A waste of space…”

The more her son talked, the more Pepper’s heart broke. “Is that why you were trying to run away? Because you didn’t want her to hurt us?”

The boy in her arms nodded. “I knew it would be hard enough as it was to leave you guys, but I thought I could make it easier on dad if I was a brat, if he hated me.’

Pepper looked up and closed her eyes, trying to keep the newest onslaught of tears in. She pressed her lips to his forehead and breathed in his scent, not even wanting to think about how much the boy she loved so much had been hurting. How long he had been hurting for. 

“Come on buddy. Let’s go talk to Dad. We’re a family, and what that means is that we will always be there for you, together.”

“But he hates me… I said such mean things to him.”

“He doesn’t hate you Pete. He was hurt, but he’ll understand. He could never hate you. You’re his son.” She helped him stand up. “Come on.”

Leaning on his mom, Peter grabbed the crutches from the wall they were leaning against. Together, they came up on the master bedroom. Tony was awake, leaning against the headboard, face a calm mask. 

Peter hid behind his mom, terrified to face the fact that he had ruined the best thing in his life. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony

Seeing Peter hiding behind Pepper almost broke through the mask Tony had put in place. The kid was scared of him. Of course he was, he was just as bad as his own dad. He knew he would screw this up, and now he had. He had hurt Peter, and Tony wasn’t sure he could live with that. 

And then the kid burst into tears. 

Ignoring any semblance of logic, Tony rushed forward, catching him in his arms. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” the teen repeated while the engineer shushed him gently. 

“Why are you apologizing buddy? I should be the one saying sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten involved in your life. I ruin everything I touch, and with my own father being the way he was, I should have known I would screw this up eventua-”

“No!” Peter gaped at his dad, not believing what he was hearing. “Dad you didn’t do anything wrong! I was a jerk, and I said things I didn’t mean. I don’t hate you. I love you! You showed me what love was supposed to be like way before you took me in… I just wanted to protect you.”

Tony looked confused. “Protect me? From what?”

“From May.”

And so the story unraveled, Pepper chiming in on the parts that were too hard for the kid. By the time they were done, Peter was exhausted, slumped against his dad’s lap. 

They stayed quiet for a while, just basking in each other’s company. 

Eventually, Peter broke the silence. “I want to testify.”

Fresh tears sprung to Tony’s eyes. “You don’t have to Pete. You don’t have to face her, not if you don’t want to.”

With a flash of anger, Peter sat up. “She tried to take this from me. She convinced me that I didn’t deserve to be loved. She threatened my family! I never want her to have that chance again, and I’m ready - as long as I have you two I can face her.”

Both adults hugged the younger teen. Pepper spoke, “You’ll always have us.”


	10. Happy at Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue where Peter finally feels at home with his mom and dad and realizes that he deserved to be happy all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s finally the end you guys!! I’m actually really proud of myself for following through and getting a work done. As I said before this will be a series so make sure to subscribe for more works and leave a prompt in the comments if there’s something you wanna see done. Thank you all so much for the support!

Peter

The suit he was wearing itched against his wrists, but before he could reach to release the tight cufflinks, a larger hand blocked him off. “Pete, come on.. Stop with the cufflinks. In less than two hours, you can take the suit off and put on one of your science Pun T-shirts.”

The teen smiled at his dad, also dressed in a fancy suit, even more posh than he usually looked. He was sure his mom looked just as elegant, even though neither had seen her yet. 

The last time the younger Stark had worn a suit had been the day he had come face to face with his abuser. He had been trembling the whole time, the dark bags under his eyes prominent from the nightmare driven lack of sleep he had endured the night before. He had been on crutches, the prosthetic still too new for Peter to feel comfortable using it outside of Physical Therapy. 

May had looked at him and sneered, and Peter had felt his remaining knee go weak. 

And then his mom and dad had been there, holding him up, showering him with the silent love and affection he had grown to thrive off of. 

They had held his hands the whole time until he had to go up on the stand, and even then he could feel them with him, their unconditional love and support. 

He told his story. He cried, and refused to look at May until the very end. He had hoped that maybe - maybe he would see some remorse in her eyes. But when he finally gathered the courage to look, he saw that his hope had been misguided. 

But maybe that was a good thing, because he finally allowed himself to let go of any responsibility he felt towards her for taking care of him. He allowed himself to let go of the past, and turn instead towards the future. 

And there was his future, sitting there, a genius brunet with a perfectly trimmed goatee, and a regal redhead who could take over the world if she tried. 

His parents. His family.

May had been declared guilty and sentenced to life in prison. His parents had invited over uncle Rhodey and Uncle Happy to celebrate, the five of them piling onto the couch and eating boxes of greasy pizza. 

Peter had never felt happier than in that moment. 

Until today, as he watched his mom walk down the aisle towards his dad. Tony had asked him to be his best man during lab day, and Peter, wide eyed, had asked whether he was sure, if he wouldn’t want Rhodey instead. 

“You’re my best man Pete, in life and now, if you’ll have me that is.”

So Peter had agreed, and now he felt his dad squeeze his hand as the Italian man’s eyes filled with tears, gazing at his future wife. 

She wore a simple but elegant white gown, no veil, sandals instead of heels, and minimal makeup. She had figured that they had all seen her dressed to the 9’s on so many occasions, that all she needed for this occasion was the minimum. 

Tony had never seen her look so radiant. 

Joining her family on the podium, both Pepper and Tony turned to face each other, grasping their hands together. 

Before he knew it, they were kissing, the crowd cheering. Peter couldn’t have wiped the huge smile off his face if he tried. 

And two hours later found them on the same couch, eating greasy pizza, but this time it was just the three of them. Ratatouille played in the background. 

“You sure you’ll be ok staying with Rhodey for a week? It’s still not too late to cancel the flight…” His mom worried at her lip as she gazed at him with concern in her eyes. 

Peter smiled and sighed in mock exasperation. “Mom! Don’t worry about me, I’ll be ok, and I want you two to enjoy the honeymoon I so graciously planned for you behind your back knowing you would never have done so otherwise.”

Tony laughed. “He’s got us there Pep.”

The redhead finally cracked a grin. “Oh alright. But you’ll call every night and every morning right? Because I have Ned and Michelle’s numbers now and don’t think I won’t call them if you don’t mister!”

“Yes mooommm, I know! But seriously, you guys have been worrying about me for a year now, and you deserve a break. School is good, the prosthetic is working. Physical therapy and regular therapy are going great. I have friends, I’m getting sleep, the nightmares are less frequent. That’s all thanks to the support you’ve given me. So let me pay you back in this small way.”

“We will always worry about you kid. You’re our baby.” his dad said. 

Peter grinned at the moniker. “Dad it’s a week in Prague! Alone. With mom.” He wiggled his eyebrows. 

Tony mockingly covered his ears. “Stop that! You’re like twelve! How do you even know about these things!”

Peter rolled his eyes and went to stand. “Hardy har. Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe it’s time for Spiderman to patrol.”

“Stay safe kiddo, and call me if anything happens. It’s only been a few weeks so don’t push yourself too much.”

Peter laughed. “Gosh, you’re starting to sound like mom.”

The redhead grinned triumphantly at the genius beside her. Tony rolled his eyes and pointed at Pete accusingly. “Now you’ve done it kid, she’s going to hold this over me forever!”

“Byeeeeeee!” Peter called over his shoulder.

He suited up, the smile still present on his face at the fact that his parents were married! They were a family long before this, but with the adoption having been finalized a few months before and the wedding today, they were a family legally too. 

Peter couldn’t have been happier. There had been times when he was sure his life would never be good again. Thank God he had been wrong, because he wouldn’t trade this for anything. 

With a whoop, he swung off into the night, everything feeling right. He knew that more things would be coming, but he had a family, he had his friends, he was loved. 

There was nothing more he could have asked for.


End file.
